Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Cake
Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Cake is a spin on a Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake with a chocolate chip cookie crust. Customize with your favorite flavor of ice cream and decorate for any occasion!
When the girls and I were brainstorming different kinds of ice cream sandwiches and ice cream cakes, we knew we wanted to try our favorite Dairy Queen Copycat ice cream cake with a chocolate chip cookie crust. The original crust is Oreo, and we had already done a brownie crust, so chocolate chip cookie seemed like a logical next step.
After the success of the Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches, I decided to apply the same method of first making a chocolate chip pan cookie and building from there.
Recipe Details
Prepare the Pan
I like to use a springform pan for making round ice cream cakes so it’s easy to remove the pan and slice the cake before serving. I trace the outer edge of the pan onto parchment paper using a pencil, then cut out the circle a little smaller than my tracing.
Then butter the bottom of the pan and stick the parchment round on top. This helps it adhere to the pan and stay in place. Next, butter the top of the paper and sides of the pan. The pan is now ready for the cookie dough.
Make the Cookie Dough Crust
First, sift together the dry ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Beat the butter and sugars together, then add the egg and vanilla. Slowly add the dry ingredient mixture, then stir in the chocolate chips.
Transfer the cookie dough to the prepared pan, spreading the dough into an even layer, leaving about 1/2-inch of space around the edge of the pan to allow room for the dough to spread.
Bake the cookie until browned.
You can see how the crust forms a nice uniform layer when you leave room for the cookie to spread during baking. If you prefer a thicker cookie and don’t mind an uneven thickness, try using the Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake recipe for the crust. If you want to stop a this point and decorate the cookie like a cookie cake with Easy Vanilla Buttercream or Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream, you can do that.
Allow the crust to cool. Meanwhile, work on the hot fudge.
Make the Fudge Layer
To make the simple fudge layer, combine powdered sugar, chocolate chips, evaporated milk, and butter in a small saucepan and bring to a boil for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. I like using small silicone spatulas for this purpose.
Remove the pan from heat and stir in the vanilla. Allow the fudge sauce to cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, begin assembling the cake.
Add the Ice Cream Layer
At this point, I added a strip of clear acetate to the inside edge of the pan to essentially add some height to the pan because I wanted my ice cream cake to be taller than the pan. This is sometimes referred to as a “cake collar.” I simply taped the acetate in place with clear tape. If you don’t have acetate, you can use less ice cream to ensure that all of your layers will fit beneath the top edge of the pan, as I did with the Brownie Peppermint Ice Cream Cake. Once the acetate was in place, I added the softened vanilla ice cream. You can use any flavor of ice cream you like. The cake will need to be frozen for at least 2 hours to set.
Add the Fudge Layer
Once the cake has been frozen for at least 2 hours, spoon on the cooled hot fudge sauce and freeze the cake until firm before adding the whipped topping.
Add the Whipped Topping Layer
Once the fudge layer is firm, spread an even layer of whipped topping on top. You can use the extra whipped topping to pipe little mounds of topping on the edges of the cake or decorate as you prefer. Sprinkles can be added after that if desired. The cake is then frozen for at least 3 hours before serving.
To serve the cake, carefully remove the springform ring and the acetate strip. You can transfer the cake to a cake platter before slicing if you like.
Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Cake
Use a gluten free flour blend, such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour, in place of all purpose flour in the cookie portion of the recipe for an entirely gluten free dessert.
Looking for More Ice Cream Cakes and Desserts?
Check out these other recipes:
Homemade No Bake Ice Cream Cake
Brownie Peppermint Ice Cream Cake
Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
Grasshopper Ice Cream Pie
Rainbow Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches
Mermaid Ice Cream Cake
My Little Pony Rainbow Unicorn Ice Cream Cake
Oreo Shamrock Shakes
Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Cake
Equipment
- 9-inch springform pan
- parchment paper
- clear acetate strip optional
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Chip Cookie Crust:
- 3/4 cup flour (all purpose or gluten free)
- 3/4 teaspoon cornstarch
- 3/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 5 1/3 tablespoons butter, softened (1/3 cup)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 2/3 cup chocolate chips
For the Hot Fudge Layer:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 6 ounces evaporated milk
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Cake Assembly:
- 1 container vanilla ice cream (approx. 48 ounces)
- 8 ounces whipped topping, thawed (such as Cool Whip)
- sprinkles
Instructions
Make the Chocolate Chip Cookie Crust:
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Butter the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan, then place a parchment or waxed paper round inside to cover the bottom of the pan. Butter the paper and the sides of the pan.
- Sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Cream together the butter and sugars. Add the egg with the vanilla and beat to combine well.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to butter mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
- Transfer the cookie dough batter to the prepared pan and smooth surface evenly, leaving about 1/2-inch of space from the edge of dough to the sides of the pan for spreading.
- Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until browned and cooked through.
- Cool completely. Meanwhile, begin making the hot fudge.
Make the Hot Fudge:
- Combine first 4 ingredients of hot fudge sauce in a saucepan and bring to a boil for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove pan from heat and stir in vanilla. Cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, begin cake assembly.
Assemble the Ice Cream Cake:
- Spoon softened ice cream on top of cookie crust and smooth the surface. Freeze for 2 hours to set.
- Add cooled hot fudge sauce on top of ice cream layer and freeze until firm.
- Spread whipped topping on top. Pipe on extra whipped topping if desired, and sprinkle with sprinkles.
- Freeze until ready to serve, for at least 3 hours.
- To serve, carefully remove the springform ring and acetate strip. Transfer to a cutting board or cake plate before slicing, if desired.
